Full of energy and motivation, young African feminists fight for their rights. During the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) Forum, held in Brazil from September 8-11, they brought the challenges they face and let themselves be heard.
Five years following the forced resignation of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, on 14 January 2011, Tunisians continue to face countless violations of their rights and freedoms. At a time of repression of human rights activists, and increasing violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a number of civil society organizations decided to mobilize as an informal group for individual freedoms.
AWID spoke to Alaa Murabit, founder of The Voice of Libyan Women, an organization working for women’s economic and political representation, and against violence against women, to discuss their work and the situation facing women in Libya today.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, AWID spoke with two Algerian activists to learn more about violence against women in the country and the strategies and challenges of the feminists working to end it.
AWID spoke with Pierre Meyer author of the report “Do Not Wake up a Sleeping Lion: Mapping the legal environment of LGBTQ persons in Francophone West Africa”.
With upcoming presidential elections in West African country’s Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire this month, AWID spoke with Afiwa Mata Ahouadjogbe, Vice-President of the Association des Femmes Journalistes de Guinée (Guinean Association of Women Journalists, AFJ-Guinea) and Georgette Zamble, President of Leadafricaines, to learn more about the challenges related to women’s decision-making and leadership, particularly for rural women, and the actions taken to overcome these challenges in both West African countries.
As part of the Global Women’s Climate Justice Day of Action this 29 September 2015, AWID spoke to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinating Committee Member of The Women’s Global Call for Climate Justice, to learn more about the global campaign and mobilizing for women’s rights, including Indigenous women’s rights to climate justice, with a view to the upcoming 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (COP21).
The political crisis in the east African country Burundi has led to a wave of demonstrations and violence in the country, with deeply worrying consequences. AWID spoke to Nelly Kandatwa, President of the Burundian League for Women’s Rights “Mwubahirize,” and the SOS Women in Distress Network Burundi, to better understand the situation from a women’s rights perspective.
To commemorate World Refugee Day, celebrated each year on June 20th, AWID spoke to Yasmine Flitti, Director of Finance and Administration with Comede (Committee for the Health of Exiles) and Hélène Rama Niang Diagne, President and Founder of FECSDA (Women Education Culture Health and Development in Africa), to learn more about the issues and challenges of migration in the Mediterranean region from a feminist perspective.
Stress, burn out, uncontrollable emotional outbursts, depression, anxiety, migraines and cancer, are some of the effects that human rights defense work has on WHRDs around the world, and the ones that often make them quit their important work. AWID spoke with Jessica Horn, Senior Advisor for the African Institute for Integrated Responses to Violence Against Women and HIV/AIDS (AIR) about the politics of self-care and well being for women human rights defenders (WHRDs).